Last 'Dead Presidents' defendant found guilty of murder, attempted murder

SAN BERNARDINO - A jury delivered a sweeping conviction against the remaining defendant in the "Dead Presidents" quadruple slaying of July 2000.

Froylan Chiprez was found guilty on Monday of four counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder. Jurors also found the special circumstances for an intentional killing while being active in a street gang at the time of the crime to be true.

"There was never really a question on the streets as to who did it," said San Bernardino police Detective Marco Granado, a gang expert who testified during the trial. "He should be held to answer to what happened."

On July 9, 2000, Chiprez was part of a crew who went to a residence on Vine Street in San Bernardino and opened fire on leaders of local gangs. Their motive was to remove the high-ranking officials from their positions of power, Deputy District Attorney Denise Yoakum said.

"I'm very happy with the verdict," said Jacinto Agudo, who lost two sons and two nephews in the ordeal.

Jacinto Agudo attended the trial every day and had to relive the incident all over again. He sat through gruesome pictures of his sons and nephews and listened to the testimony of the man charged with their deaths.

"We're all very glad it's over," he said, adding that the family can now rest.

Two of the victims were presidents of San Bernardino street gangs Little Counts and Seventh Street, cliques within the West Side Verdugo, which is controlled by a prison gang, prompting some law enforcement circles to dub the case "Dead Presidents," officials said.

Granado said the shooting fractured the street gangs, and it never got back up to the level it was before.

After the shooting, the suspects fled the scene. Authorities arrested Chiprez on June 21, 2011, in Tijuana and he was extradited to the U.S. six months later.

"I hope the message is clear that just because time goes by, that's not going to keep up from pursuing justice," Yoakum said.

Because he was extradited from Mexico, prosecutors cannot seek the death penalty. Instead, Chiprez is facing life without the possibility of parole.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 9.

Two of the other defendants, Luis Mendoza and Lorenzo Arias, have already been convicted and sentenced to the death penalty.

John Ramirez, the fourth defendant, accepted a plea bargain before going to trial.

Chiprez pleaded not guilty to the charges and when he took the stand during the trial he denied any gang involvement.

His defense attorney James Gass declined to comment after the verdict was read.